Workloading apparatus for positioning elongated headed articles



April 5, 1966 P. W. KLooz 3,244,295

WORKLOADING APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING ELONGATED HEADED ARTICLES Original Filed Aug ll, 1959 4 Sheets-Shea?I 1 mum,

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INVENTOR PAU/ W KL O02 United i States Patent O 3,244,295 v WORKLOADING APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING ELONGATED HEADED` ARTICLES Paul W. Klooz, West Hartford, Conn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Veeder-Root, Incorporated, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Original application Aug. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 832,990, now Patent No. 3,150,390, dated Sept. 29, 1964. Divided and this application Dec. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 329,577

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-1) This is a division of application Serial No. 832,990, led August 11, 1959, now Patent No. 3,150,390.

This invention relates generally to machine tools of the type performing trimming, chamfering, shaving, skiving and similar operations on workpieces such as headed blanks having two or more diameters, slugs, bars and the like, and is particularly concerned with a machine tool of this type suitable for machining sequentially the opposite ends of such an elongated workpiece in a completely automatic operation.

, As pointed out in my prior United States Patent No. 2,881,452, issued to the assignee of the present invention,

apparatus of this type has particular utility in the art of manufacturing socket headscrews, although its general utility is not limited to this art. After a socket has been formed in the rod stock slug during the manufacture of a socket headscrew, it is necessary to trim both ends of the slug and it is most desirable that this trimming operation be performed at high speed. The problem of high speed, economical production of socket headscrews and similar workpieces is greatly complicated as the workpieces increase in length. Also, it is desirable to be able to use the same machine to trim workpieces of widely different lengths.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a single machine that sequentially trims the opposite ends of workpieces which is particularly adapted for use with workpieces of lrelatively long length and which is adjustable for use throughout al long range of sizes of workpieces.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a machine that trims the opposite ends of a workpiece in sequence at high speeds and which can trim workpieces of widely varying length without necessitating material alterations in the workpiece loading or feed mechanism.

' It is a still further object of this invention to provide a machine of the foregoing character having an improved transfer mechanism for transferring a workpiece between two adjacent chucking devices and for reversing the workpiece end for end, which transfer mechanism is easily adjustable to accommodate a wide range of workpiece sizes.

It is another object of this invention to provide a work loading mechanism for a machine of the class described, which work loading mechanism is capable of loading workpieces of widely varying lengths into achuck With-- out adjustment.

VIt is yet another object of this invention to provide a machine of the foregoing character which is low in cost,

which requires little supervision or attention during nor-l mal operation, which is durable and reliable in operation and which requires minimum operationalrmaintenance. p y

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of.

construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is atop plan view of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

3,244,295 Patented Apr. 5, 1 966 FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation view of the work loading mechanism taken generally along the lines 4-4 of FIG. l; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial top plan view of the work loading mechanism of FIG. 1.

Before describing the mechanism of the present invention in detail, the following general summary of the main operating parts and their functional relationship will assist in the understanding of the invention.

, Referring to FIG. l, the basic machine includes a frame 10 on which is mounted a work feeding or loading device 12 that conveys workpieces in sequence to the rst of two spindle collets 14 and 16. Collets 14 and 16 are arranged in spaced generally parallel relationship and are operated in unison to simultaneously rotate two workpieces which are gripped at one end thereof, the workpieces being transferred to the collets in sequence and being reversed when transferred to the second collet so that a trimmingv operation may be performed on one end of a workpiece contained in collet 14, while, at the samev time, the opposite end of a similar workpiece previously trimmed at one end while in collet 14 is being held for a trimming operation in collet 16. The collets or chucking devices 14, 16 areof conventional type such as that disclosed in detail in my prior'Patent No. 2,881,452.

In order to transfer the workpiece contained in collet` 14 to collet 16 and, at the same time, to reverse its position end for end, transfer frame 18 is mounted on frame 10 and has carrier 20 mounted thereon for pivotal movement from a position of alignment with collet 14 to a posi-tion of alignment with collet 16. In addition, carrier 22 is pivotally mounted on transfer frame 18 for movement from a position of alignment with collet 16 to a position of alignment with a suitable collection device (not shown) for fully trimmed workpieces adjacent frame 10. To assist in removal of the workpieces from the collets 14 and 16, conventional ejector mechanism (not shown) is provided within the internal automatic operating mechanism of the collets. The pusher mechanisms 2S, 26 are provided to inject the workpieces into the collets from the transfer mechanism. The necessary trimming operation is performed on the'free end of the workpiece held in each collet by cutting tools 2S and 29. The proper programming of the operation of the foregoing briefly described mechanisms is provided by an enclosed series of cams or cam mechanisms indicated diagrammatically at 32, which cams are driven in timed relationship to each other and are connected to the aforementioned operating mechanisms by appropriate driving linkages.

Having described the general structural and operational characteristics of my apparatus, reference is now made in detail to the collets or chucking devices 14 and 16. Asv most clearly' seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, each collet is provided with a collet cap-3S, having a beveled aperture therein in which are disposed gripping lingers 36 that are` urged into clamping relationship with a workpiece when the conventional actuating mechanism is operated. Reverse operation of the actuating mechanism releases the fingers and, at the same time, causes a conventional ejecting pin (not shown), centrally disposed within the collet, to be moved forwardly to eject the workpiece contained therein. Lever arm 38 connects the two chuck operating mechanisms of this apparatus to the cam mechanism 32 to` effect simultaneous gripping and release-ejecting operation of the collets 14 and 16 in proper timed sequence to L necessary to show each of the individual camsin detail.

Comingl now to the work loading mechanism 12, it is seen by reference to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, that workloading arm 40, mounted on frame 10 and inclined downwardly to a point adjacent collet 14, is provided with a feed slot 42 and a pair of adjustably mounted guide rails 43 and 44. The workpieces slide by gravity down arm 40 between rails 43 and 44 and towards gate 46 in an upright position with their heads resting on the top of the rails. Gate 46 is mounted on plunger 47 which is received in aperture 48 of guide frame 49 secured to arm 40. Gate 46 and plunger 47 are driven by pin 51 which extends laterally throughfslots 54 and 55 in guide block 49 and through plunger 47 to engage drive rod 53. Drive rod 53 is provided with a necked down end 58 that normally Vengages yoke 60 on lever 61 which is pivotally mounted on frame by bolt 62. The lower end of lever 61 carries follower 63 which engages cam 64 mounted on cam shaft 65 in cam box 32. Cam surface 66 is positioned -on cam 64 to impart oscillatory movement to lever 61 (and therefore oscillatory movement to gate 46) in proper timed sequence to the other mechanisms of my apparatus. Drive rod 53 (and consequently gate 46) when moved by the cam in the opposite direction from the collet 14 loads the return spring 56 contained within generally cylindrical guide 57. For convenience, lockout plunger 70 is mounted on guide block 49 so that, when gate 46 is in the position closing feed rails 43 and 44, pin 51 may be depressed to engage plunger 53 and lock gate 46 in the closed position to permit operation of the machine with the feed' mechanism or work loader 12 disabled. In this position, the lever 61 merely oscillates in itstimed pattern but movement of gate 46 under the influence of spring 55 is precluded.

In order to accommodate workpieces of various lengths arid to move one of Vsuch workpieces from a position of alignment with feed rails 43 and 44 to a second position whereinit can be 'grasped by vthe feed finger mechanism designated generally'as 92, a groove 93 is provided in gate 46 in alignment with slot 42 and, in the preferred embodiment, an enlarged groove portion 94 is provided above groove 93 to receive the head of the workpiece and support it on ledge 95. l 4

Transfer of a single workpiece from groove 93 in gate 46 to a position wherein the workpiece is aligned with collet 14 is provided by feed finger mechanism 92 which is arranged generally parallel to and mounted on arm 40. Guide block 96 is fastened to the side of arm 40 and is provided with a longitudinally extending cam slot 67 having a straight portion 68 and an arcuate portion 69. Feed arm 97 is mounted in guide block 96 for longitudinal sliding movement and is provided with a radially extending pin 71 which acts as a cam follower to rotatably position arm 97 in accordance ywith the configuration of cam track 67, as hereinafter explained. As most clearly seen in FIG; 3, arrn 97 is provided with a cylindrical aperture 73 in which guide tube 74 is slidably received. Guide tube 74 is fastened at one end to arm 40 and contains therein a coiled torsion spring 76 having one end secured to arm 40 and having its other end secured to arm 97 through a slot in guide tube 74. Rack 78 is slidably mounted on guide block 96 and is in toothed engagement with segment gear 79. Pin 80 is fastened to rack 78 and engages a circumferential slot in arm 97 toY establish driving engagement between rack 78 and arm 97 regardless of the rotated position of arm 97. Crank 82 is rigidly secured to sector gear 79 and is pivotally connected, to link 83 which in turn is pivotally connected to link 84 journaled on rockshaft 85. Rockshaft 85 is driven in an oscillatory manner by the cam mechanism 32 acting through spring buffer assembly 86. The limits of the pivotal movement of link 84 are determined by a pair of adjustable stops 84a (one of which is shown in FIG. 3). A pair of spring-pressed feed fingers 87 are ixedly secured to the end of shaft 97 adjacent gate 46 and are dimensioned to clampingly engage a workpiece carried in `groove 93.

The operation of the work loading mechanism of my apparatus can best be appreciated by referring to FIGS. 3 and 5 wherein it will be seen that a workpiece standing upright between feed rails 43 and 44 will slide down between these rails until it rests inthe trough or groove 93 in gate 46 with its head extending beyond groove 93 and resting on ledge 95. As gate 46 is moved towards collet 14, fiat portion 45 of gate 46 closes off the end of the slot 42 and positions the single workpiece in groove 93 at a position adjacent to slot 42 and in alignment with feed fingers 87. Arm 97 is then advanced by sector gear 83 through the straight portion 68 of cam slot 67 until fingers 87 engage and grasp the head of the workpiece. At this time, the cam mechanism 32 causes retraction of gate 46 to the position Vshown in FIG. 5 and, at the same time, advances arm '97 into the arcuate portion 69 of cam track 67 to enable arm 97 to rotate 90 under the influence of spring 76. Slight additional forward travel is provided by this cam track portion so that the final advanced position of feed fingers 87 is one in which the fingers are rotated and advanced to the position wherein the workpiece is in alignment with collet 14.

In order to inject a workpiece into either or both of the collets, injectors 25 and 26 are utilized and generally comprise plunger 100, aligned with collet 14, and plunger 101 aligned with collet 16, each of which are mounted for sliding movement in transverse frame member 102. Yoke 105 is slidably mounted on guide rail 106 about which is disposed the coiled compression spring 107. Arm 109 is pivotally connected to yoke 10S and is driven by the cam mechanism 32 in timed relationship to move yoke 105 against compression spring 107 to bring plungers 100 and 101 forward to force a workpiece aligned with the concerned collet into the collet. Thus the workpiece positioned in alignment with collet 14 by feed fingers 87 is forced into collet 14 and out of feed fingers 87 by plunger 100. The injectors are thereafter withdrawn to a remote -position to permit appropriate cutting tools to beadvanced into engagement with the workpiece in the collet to `perform vthe end trimming operation.

As most clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of generally parallel rockshafts and 116 are journaled for rotation in 'frame 10 and carry adjacent their outer ends cutting tools 28 and -29 for engagement with the ends of the workpieces protruding from collets 14 and 16. Rockshafts 115 and 116 are also controlled by the cam mechanism 32 to bring cutting tool 23 into engagement with the end of the workpiece contained in collet 14 (as yet there is no workpiece contained in collet 16 for tool 29 to engage). After the cutting operation is performed, the rockshaft is pivoted to withdraw the cuttting tools to a position spaced from the collets and the workpieces contained therein.

In order to effect the transfer and end-for-end reversal of the workpiece contained in collet 14 to collet 16 so that the other end can be trimmed, transfer arm 20 is pivotally mounted on transfer frame 18 for rotation with shaft 125 journaled in frame 18. Rack 126 is mounted for sliding movement in frame 18 and engages the pinion 129 afxed to shaft 125. Shaft is positioned substantially midway between collets 14 and 16 and arm 20 is provided wit-h spring pressed fingers 132 depending therefrom so that arm 20 `can rotate between a position wherein fingers 132 are aligned with collet 14 to a position wherein fingers 132 are aligned with collet 16 (see FIG. 3). Arm 22 is vmounted 4on shaft V127 which is also journaled for rotation on frame 18. Pinion is secured to the end of shaft 127 and Vmeshes with rack 126 so that arms 20 and 22 move simultaneously. It is noted that arms 22 and 20 are substantially identica-l in construction and that arm 22 is positioned relative to collet 16 so that it can pivot between a position of alignment with collet 16 in which the ngers grasp a workpiece contained in collet '16 to a position shown in FIG. 3 wherein the workpiece is moved away from collet '16 and frame 10 to a position from which it can be conveniently placed in an appropriate receiver for trimmed goods. As seen in FIG.

l, rack 126 has yoke 135 attached at one end, which yoke is pivotally engagedby link 136. Link 136 is connected to the cam mechanism 32 to effect reciprocating motion of rack 126 and pivotal motion of arms 20 and 22 in a timed manner properly related to the operation of other mechanisms of my apparatus.

In order to transfer workpieces of widelyvarying lengths from collet 14 to collet 16 and to insure that the transferred workpiece will be properly aligned with collet 16, transfer frame 18, onwhich transfer arms 20 and 22 are mounted, is mounted for sliding movement on frame 10. This sliding movement is imparted to frame 18 by the cam mechanism 32 actingthrough link 140, bell crank 141 and adjustable link 144. As seen in FIG. l, bell crank 141 is pivotally mounted on frame 10 and pivotalfly connected at its ends to link 140 and adjustable link 144, respectively. As most clearly seen in FIG. 2, transfer frame 18 is slidably mounted on a pair of generally parallel guide bars 146 (one of which is shown in FIG. 2) and provided with spring 148 which urges transfer frame 18 toward-s adjustably positioned stop 149. Thus, as link 140 is moved by its associated cam, bell crank 142 rotates to slide transfer frame 18 on bars 146. -In the direction of movement of frame 18 away from stop 149, spring 148 is extended and acts to provide the return force for frame 18. Each complete cycle of movement of the cam which controls link 140, causes transfer frame 18 to move to a given fully extended position and spring 148 returns frame 18 towards collets 14 and 16 until stop 149 is engaged by rear leg 150 of frame 18.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transfer frame has a dwell position during a cutting operation which is the fully extended position of frame 18 as shown in FIG. 2. At this position, the transfer arms 20 and 22 are positioned remote from cutting tools 28 and 29 and collets 14 and 16 and it has been found desirable to select a dwell position -of the arms 20 and 22, as determined by the position of rack 126, to be one in which the arms are at a slight angle from the perpendicular to the transfer frame. When the trimming operation has been completed, the rack 126 is moved to cause rotation of arm 20 to a position of lalignment with collet 14, after which transfer frame 18 is moved towards collets- 14 and 16 by an amount determined by the position of stop 149. As frame 18 moves towards the collets, the transfer fingers, having been rotated to a position of alignment with the workpieces in the collets, slide over the workpieces. At this time, the collets are opened, the ejectors operate to push the workpiece out of the collet and the workpiece is then in position for transfer to its next operating position. Transfer frame 18 is now moved forward to its outermost position, at which position rack 126 is moved to -rotate arm 20 to a position of alignment with collet 16. Because arm 20 has been moved away from the collets before it is rotated, a workpiece of considerably greater length can be rotated into a position of alignment with collet 16. Transfer frame 18 is then moved in toward collet 16 and yoke 105 is advanced by lever 109 to bring injector 26 and plunger 101 into position to push the workpiece held by arm 20 into collet 16, after which yoke 105 is withdrawn, the collets close, and transfer frame 18 is moved outwardly to the dwell position to disengage arm 20 from the workpiece.

Itis noted at this point that the operation of Work loader 12 is synchronizd with the transfer operation so that when arm 20 has rotated into a position of alignment with collet 16 and transfer frame 18 has been withdrawn by spring 148 to a position determined by stop 149, a new workpiece -is positioned in alignment with collet 14 so that movement of yoke 105 causes injectors 25 and 26 to function simultaneously to insert a new workpiece into collet 14 and to insert the reverse end of the workpiece from collet 14 into collet 16.

In order to facilitate collection ofthe workpieces from collet 16 after both en'ds have been trimmed, the arm 22 is provided, having a pattern of operation substantially identical with that of arm 20, to grasp the finished workpiece from collet 16 and move it to the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein Vit is positioned over an appropriate receiver. The auxiliary ejector 160 is slidably mounted in support arms 161 and 162 which in turn are fixed to injector 26. Spring 163 is operative betweenarm 161 and auxiliary ejector 160 to provide a resilient drive to compensate for variations in length of the workpieces contained in arm 22. Thus, as the injectors move forward, the auxiliary ejector 160 engages and removes the finished workpiece from arm 22.

It is believed to be advantageous to the understanding of the foregoing structure to briefiy summarize a complete cycle of operation of the apparatus of my invention so as to properly relate the time sequence of the various operations. It is noted that, in the preferred embodiment, a single cam shaft 65 is provided to drive the cam mechanism 32 which controls the operation of the various mechanisms of my apparatus, thereby insuring their proper timed relationship. Assuming that there is a completely finished workpiece in collet 16, a workpiece which has only one end trimmed in collet 14 and a supply of untrimmed workpieces in work loader 12, it can be seen that transfer arms 20 and 22 are rotated from their dwell position to a position wherein arm 20 is aligned with collet 14 and arm 22 is aligned with collet 16, after which transfer frame 18 is moved inwardly against the stop 149. Collets 14 and 16 open simultaneously and the ejectors contained therein force the workpieces out of collets 14 and 16 into arms 20 and 22. Transfer frame 18 is then driven outwardly to its dwell position, at which point arms 20 and 22 rotate to the solid line position shown in FIG. 3. Transfer frame 18 is then moved back to engage stop 149 and, at the same time, gate 46 is moved towards collet 14 to bring a single workpiece into alignment with transfer fingers 87. Transfer fingers 87 are then advanced to grasp the workpiece and gate 46 is withdrawn. Transfer fingers 87 continue to advance and are rotated 90 to bring an untrimmed workpiece into alignment with collet 14. Yoke is then advanced so that injector 25 forces the untrimmed workpiece into collet 14, injector 26 forces the trimmed end of the workpiece in transfer arm 20 into collet 16 and auxiliary ejector 160 forces the finished workpiece out of the transfer arm 22. Collets 14 and 16 are now closed and transfer frame 18 is moved outwardly to the dwell position. Cutting tools 28 and 29 are rotated by rockshafts 115 and 116 into the cutting position and collets 14 and 16 are rotated by an appropriate drive mechanism. This sequence of operation is repeated as often as is necessary to trim the opposite ends of the desired number of workpieces and to deposit the workpieces in an appropriate receptacle.

From the foregoing description of the structure and operation of my apparatus, it is apparent that I have provided a triming apparatus which accommodates a wide variety of different lengths of workpieces and which permits the machine to operate upon the workpieces by making only one simple adjustment, i.e., the positioning of the stop which determines the inward movement of the transfer frame relative to the collets. This improved apparatus utilizes an improved feed mechanism and an improved transfer mechanism whose operation does not depend upon the proper length of the workpiece. My improved apparatus is reliable and dependable in operation, is economical to manufacture, and can be operated without special training and with a minimum of supervision.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is dened in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A Workloading apparatus for positioning elongated headed articles adjacent a chucking device comprising: a pair of parallel feed rails inclined downwardly towards a discharge point, said feed rails being spaced .apart to hold a plurality of elongated articles in a substantially upright position with the head portion of said elongatedheaded article resting on the top of said feed rails, a gate mounted vat the discharge end of said feed rails for oscillating movement transversely thereto, said gate having a longitudinal slot and an enlarged groove above said slot forming a ledge on which the headed portion of said elongated article is adapted to rest, cam and spring means cooperatively associated for oscillating said gate between a rst position Where said elongated slot is adjacent said feed rails to receive an elongated headed article and a second position, a loading arm at said second position, a pair of Reerences Cited by the Examiner UNTTED STATES PATENTS 1,832,165 11/1931 Wilcox 10-166 2,313,544 3/1943 Hampton. 2,662,646 12/1953 McCain 221-210X MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Examiner. 

